1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to information management in a mobile communication system, and in particular, to a method for managing information about a mobile terminal in a mobile communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a mobile communication system was deployed to provide a wireless voice call with mobility. User demands and the development of mobile communication technology have developed the mobile communication system to additionally provide short data service. Thus besides the basic voice service, the mobile communication system provides SMS (Short Message Service), transfer of an audio file to be used as ring sound, simple Internet service, and mobile banking and finance.
At present, a system for providing more data at high speed to mobile subscribers is being discussed for common use. The system is called CDMA2000 1xEV-DO (Evolution-Data Only). To transmit data at high speed to a mobile terminal, the 1xEV-DO system uses different channels from those in existing systems. Accordingly, a data channel for delivering data at high speed, a supplemental channel, a signaling channel, and a MAC (Medium Access Control) channel were defined and the structures of the channels and the standards of data delivered on the channels have been discussed.
As it has been developed as a high-rate data transmitting system, the 1xEV-DO system is very different in signaling and network configuration from CDMA2000 1x (hereinafter referred to as 1x) that provides mainly voice service. In the 1x system, information about mobile terminals is stored in an HLR (Home Location Register) and a VLR (Visitor Location Register) in an MSC (Mobile Switching Center) reads information about a particular mobile terminal from the HLR and temporarily stores it. Therefore, the MSC authenticates a mobile terminal if the mobile terminal is registered in the VLR. If the mobile terminal is not registered in the VLR, the MSC requests information about the mobile terminal from the HLR.
Meanwhile, no switching entity exists in the 1xEV-DO system, which means that mobile information is neither maintained nor updated in the same manner as in the existing systems focusing on voice service only. Yet, mobile authentication and mobile information are essential in the sense that data transmission to a mobile terminal is impossible without knowing the location of the mobile terminal or its ID (Identification) such as a telephone number. Moreover, when the mobile terminal is to transmit data, its authentication cannot be performed without management of its ID.